


Surprising You

by pink_chrysanthemums



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:46:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3061466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pink_chrysanthemums/pseuds/pink_chrysanthemums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was petty, it was childish, and she knew that but still- What choice did she have?” Korra finds a means of distraction for Tarrlok after he gets too carried away with his paperwork-while they are on vacation. (One-shot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprising You

-:-

Korra blew a puff of air towards a lock of hair on her forehead, and gave an exasperated sigh before turning over on the futon, her gaze settling on the bright embers of the fire across the room.

This felt like a mistake already, this whole so called “vacation” here at the Northern Snowy Valleys she had planned for herself and her newly-pronounced husband. It was supposed to be their time off, a time to simply relax and momentarily keep their duties and responsibilities at bay. They were to stay here for a short while anyway, and it was why his current behaviour was annoying her all the more.

She regret not stopping him back home when he had placed the paperwork into his suitcase, watching her sheepishly from the corner of his eye as if awaiting her reaction.  But here he was now, seated at the desk, pen in hand and head bowed over the numerous, ink-blotted sheets scattered across the desk. _“I assure you Korra; I will be spending this vacation with only you,”_ Tarrlok had said to her in the hallway before their departure. _“Nothing can come between us,”_ he had added afterwards while placing his suitcase into the back of the satomobile.  

Korra rose from the futon, her lips pressed together and arms crossed over.

_The lying weasel-snake._

On a date with his precious file work.

She had explicitly _told_ him _and_ _yet-_

Korra huffed as she leaned against the wall, making sure he could hear her.  He didn’t so much as even look towards her. After several months of working as an accountant back in Republic City, and only recently having their nuptial, he surely deserved this break along with her too. Everything and anything related to work had to stay back home-or at least, it was supposed to until now.  She truly did understand that old habits were not easy to break, especially when it came to him. But still…She had to take matters into her own hands, and not be told to just “wait another ten minutes.”

A surprising distraction of sorts, to take his mind off of matters.

Straightening herself, Korra went over to the kitchenette attached to their room, and poured herself a cup of ginseng tea from the ceramic tea pot, leaving the cup to cool down on the window ledge.

She had come to understand him better over the past several months, and if there was one thing she had picked up on, it was that he could be so focused on the task at hand sometimes, tuning out from the rest of the world.

Korra watched the soft snow fall across the mountain range and over the frozen river, the landscape still and silent under the pale, afternoon light of the sun.  There was the most obvious route of distraction, but she didn’t think it was fair enough given the circumstance, and anyway, he would probably suspect her intentions straight away and…and well, she was angry at him right now dammit!

At that moment, she heard him speak.

“Korra, dear, just another-”

“No, Tarrlok.”

She gave no other reply and kept her back to him, fuming on her spot. She was sure steam was rising from the top of her head right now. She tried, in her earnest, to piece together why exactly he had chosen this time of the day to finish off his “small” amount of paperwork. There was always night time, though again, their nights were usually always filled with other activities.

But she just wasn’t in her right temperament, and no amount of tea would calm her down.

Taking the last sip of her ginseng tea, Korra rinsed the cup and placed it on the rack to let it dry as she noticed the snowfall stop outside.

She did not know what had prompted her in that instance to do what she did next, but she went ahead anyway.

Anger and prolonged annoyance were part of the reason, but surely there were other factors to be considered as well.

Not wasting another second, and without another word to her husband, Korra slipped her parka on and left the confinements of their hotel room, heading past the receptionist desk and exiting the cabin as the first draft of cold air swept against her face. 

Quickly glancing to check if anyone was around, she reached down and cupped a handful of snow making sure there was a lot.

It was petty, it was childish, and she _knew_ that but _still_ -

What choice did she have?

Okay, maybe there was another part of her which sought the thrill of doing something like this, because she could just imagine his reaction and _spirits_ , it was bound to break him from his trance and dump his date with the paperwork.

Korra rose, and hurried back into the lobby before entering the room, hands behind her back holding the snow ball.

He had heard her entrance, could feel her presence, but just as before, he was too immersed in finishing up signing the last page of documents as she went up behind him.

“Korra, I know you’re there,” Tarrlok said absentmindedly, dipping his pen into the ink.

“I know you know,” she replied, hiding back a grin, “which is why I want to present you with _this_ -”

Before he could respond, before he could so much as draw another stroke of ink to the paper,  Korra quickly reached over and pulled the collar of his shirt down from behind, before throwing the ball of snow down his back.

Tarrlok froze, realising what had just happened. But she was already doubled over on the floor, laughing. 

“ _Korra!_ ”

He scrambled up from his chair, and turning around, pulled his shirt free from his pants to let the remnants of snow escape to the floor. Still cursing and yelling at no one in particular, he bent the remaining half-melted snow from his clothes and chair, letting it splash into the sink.

She watched him turn towards her then, hands clenched by his sides, with murderous intent written over his face.  One of his ponytails had become tangled, and his clothes were in disarray. But he stood there, glaring at her and not saying a word.

 _No_ , his reaction was even funnier than she had imagined.

“So, that got your attention, dear?” Korra mused, her arms propped behind her head.

“You-” Tarrlok begun, tucking his shirt back in and trying to retain his dignity, “are going to pay for this.”

And then he lunged towards her.

She acted quick, rolling away and getting up, sprinting away from him.

Korra ran out the room and down the hallway, and he followed behind.

“Nice hair by the way!” she said, glancing back as she burst into another fit of laughter.

She exited the cabin, and ran along the course of the low, snowy terrain. Another glance behind her showed Tarrlok was still chasing her, one cuff of his pants unrolled and ponytails flailing behind.

 _Well, this was just getting better_ , she thought.

She bent the snow off to her side, raising it up behind her as it hit his shoulder.

He cursed again, before bending a pile of snow and hurling it towards her.

She dodged it, and continued to run forward, bending another heap of fresh, white snow and throwing it in his general direction. He returned her blow with a series of snowballs, some of which she evaded, while others landed a solid hit.

Soon enough, they were engaged in a serious battle of snow fighting, bending snow at one another from a distance, each trying to one up the other through more creative ways in bending the snow, creating loops and twirls, small tornadoes and waves.

“Is that all you got?” Korra mocked at him, manually retrieving the snow into her hands instead and flinging it towards Tarrlok’s forehead. Hands poised in front of her, she waited for his next move. “Or are you too surprised by all this?”

“I don’t believe so,” he replied, brushing the snow off his face and coat, “Though I’m sure that _this-_ ” curving his hands towards the ground, he bent the snow beneath her feet into a sheet of ice “-should surprise _you_.”

Korra let out a yelp as she slipped on the ice, losing balance and landing onto the ground.

She propped herself up on her elbows, looking around with a dazed expression, just as Tarrlok approached her. Though before she could regain her composure, he knelt down and straddled her, propping his hands on either side of her head.

Korra peered up, and her gaze locked with his. Holding it there, she watched the myriad of emotions flicker past in his pale eyes- relief and exhaustion, contentment and _love_ \- visible with her reflection.

She was sure he could see everything too as he lifted a hand to her forehead, smoothing her stray hair to the side. She let her eyes close; simply feeling the cool air sweep past her now flushed skin, submerging herself in the heat of his fingers as they gently traced her cheek bone, her nose, her bottom lip…

“You infuriate me so much sometimes, Korra,” said Tarrlok, his voice just above a whisper, his hand cupping her face, “over the most trivial things.” Her eyes fluttered open, taking in him in as she pressed her palm against the warmth of his arm. “I’m still at a loss of explanation at how you’re able to do this to me,” Tarrlok continued, resting a hand at her waist.

Korra could only manage a small smile, her heart and mind overcome with too many emotions to say anything witty, and leaving her unable to know what else to say in return. She had never really been too good with words, but she hoped this would suffice, that it would express the depth of how much she truly felt for him, how much she truly loved him…

The moment lasted for only a short while, until Korra looped her arms around his neck, and before he was able to react, she flipped them over so that she was straddling him now instead.

“Do I infuriate you even now?” said Korra, voice laced with her usual cheek.

“Not really,” Tarrlok replied, staying relaxed and playing along with her game. He knew she would have taken charge sometime soon, reverting to their usual dynamic, and he just _adored_ that about her.

“Shut up, Tarrlok” said Korra, before she leaned down and placed a quick peck to his lips, “how about now,” she asked. Tarrlok let out a growl, knowing she was taunting him, as usual, of course.

She idly watched him in return, a smirk curving at her mouth.

“Korra,” he replied hoarsely, trying to move his arms and realising she had pinned them down. He could not really bear her taunting him right now, maybe some other time, but not now, _spirits_ , he really wanted her-

“I’m just kidding,” said Korra, laughing softly as she laid her head in the crook of his shoulder and neck, inhaling the sweet, floral scent of his hair. “But first, apologize-for not spending more time with me today, and using our limited time to finish your dumb paperwork instead.”

She heard him sigh, his breath tickling the side of her face.

“I am deeply sorry for everything today, dear wife” Tarrlok replied, placing his arm around her after she let it go. “I am sorry, and I will make sure I won’t be carried away again.” He truly did not wish for the incident to repeat, and he hoped that, if by any small chance it did, she would distract him with any means possible again.

“Well, I’m not exactly going to hold those words against you, knowing what your habits are like,” said Korra as she cupped his face towards herself, quirking an eyebrow at him. “But I think everything is understandable, for now at least. I mean, I got you out here and we managed to have some fun.”

With those words, Korra closed her lips over his.

They moved into a more comfortable position, hands entwined and lips moving together in synchrony, losing themselves in each other’s presence, each other’s comfort, pleasure and touch for the remainder of the afternoon.

-:-


End file.
